In the song “Can’t Buy Me Love,” The Beatles begged, “Tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can’t buy,” and after 30 years, it finally seems the British public is listening.
Expensive holidays, cars and designer clothes are slipping down the United Kingdom’s list of essentials for a good quality of life, according to new research published by Visa UK and the Future Foundation. The so-called “Happiness Checklist” shows Britons redefining what quality of life really means to them. Two-thirds of those surveyed revealed that they would prefer to live well every day, even if it means forgoing occasional luxuries to accomplish this. Topping of the list of things considered key for a good quality of life include spending time with friends and family (97%), being fit and healthy (97%), and having time to relax every day (94%).
New role models reflect the changing attitude, the survey reports. The popularity of British cook Nigella Lawson and “Changing Rooms” host Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen-who tout everyday, do-it-yourself lifestyles-may signify a shift in the public’s focus away from such newsmakers as footballer Wayne Rooney’s fiance Colleen McLoughlin and her latest shopping spree. The report claims that these examples of high-spending, materially-driven celebrities, that grace magazine covers and tabloids such as The Sun, have women turned off, and females are leading the way in the shift from material goods in favor of everyday pleasures. The survey reports that 11% of women believe that luxuries such as expensive cars are essential. And in a change that could be attributed to last year’s rise of the metrosexual, more men believe that designer clothes and goods are the key to happiness: 19% of men describe them as essential, compared with 12% of women.
An estimated 1.6 million people in the U.K. are now working past retirement age, and the over-65 crowd appears to be seeking a balance between work and home life. Of the over-65s, 99% rated having time to relax as essential to maintaining a good quality of life-the highest percentage of any age group surveyed.
“The great majority of us recognize that we have far more than previous generations in the way of consumer choice, leisure options, designer label goods and holidays,” Paul Flatters chief executive, Future Foundation said. “But most people feel that we have less than the previous generation when it comes to local community, time with family and home cooked meals, and it is these things which we now appear to value most highly.”